i heard an offense and a heard a defense. first the obama offense, he sees the economy not getting all that much better this year or later, and doesn't want to be blamed for it. what he wants is a battle, a national debate on the following question. do the people want to persist with the rate of growth we have now, with a higher than healthy jobless rate that's ebbing only slowly. or push for infrastructure spending that will kick the economy into a higher gear. he wants this debate and he wants to be positioned on one side of it. where the republicans refuse to support an agenda, and the president is seen supporting one. he also knows the republican right ram rodded by ted cruz planning a showdown this fall. a manufactured crisis that leads to a government shutdown and risks national default. he the president wants to position himself in the national stance coming this fall, as the leader who wants government to function, his opponents. he's basically admitting the reality, there are strong forces posed against them now. the